Burglar alarm-clock



J. MATTHEWMAN.

Burglar Alarm.

Patented July 6, 1858.

N. PETERS, Phfln-Lilhognpher, wimpy. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. MATTHEWMAN, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

BURGLAR ALARM-CLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 20,810, dated July 6, 1858.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN MATTHEWMAN, of the city and county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful improvements in apparatus or arrangements to give alarm on the entrance of burglars into a room or building and to furnish an instantaneous light in the chamber or room in which it is placed when it is operated either by a person entering the room or building or by an alarm-clock set to awaken the occupant of the room at a given hour; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the side of a room, showing the apparatus attached to an alarm clock, and connected to be operated by the entrance door of the room. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the lamp and the lighting apparatus detached. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the emery-paper cylinder, detached, and Fig. 4 is a broken horizontal section through the line 00 m Fig. 1.

A is the entrance door of the room-open ing inwardly.

B is a lever, secured by a stud to the door casing, and connected by wires and bell crank to the detaching lever C placed upon the end of the case of the alarm clock D.

E is a tongue upon the outer end of the lever B which depresses the inner end of that lever when it is struck by the door A being opened against it. It is so attached to the lever that it can be turned up so as not to be operated upon if required.

D is an ordinary alarm clock, which can be set to ring an alarm at any given hour to awaken the person occupying the room.

F is a fram'eattached to the case of the clock D to support the lamp and the apparatus for lighting the lamp hereinafter described. It has a bracket at its upper end to sustain the upper end of the tube G and a similar one at its lower end to sustain the lower end of the tube and keep it in a vertical position.

G is a tube containing a coiled spring H by which the lighting apparatus is operated.

I is a spirit lamp, secured to the upper side of the top bracket of the frame F, which has its wick-tube and wick placer close to its front side to enable the lighted match to light the wick as hereinafter described.

J is the match-holder (attached to the case K, which incloses, and slides upon the tube G) which is elevated to position by the action of the coiled spring H. The foot, L, of the holder slides in an aperture cut in the tube G, which aperture is enlarged at the bottom to form a stop to retain the foot of the holder when depressed or set as shown in Fig. 4.

M is a'cylinder, formed of emery paper or other paper or material of similar nature, which is placed over and upon the body of the lamp and which is held in position, vertieally, by the cap of the lamp, and which fits upon the body of the lamp sufficiently loose to permit it to be readily rotated upon it so that a fresh and unused portion of it is presented to be acted upon by the match at each operation.

N is a detentsliding on the plate 0 and through an aperture in the clock case, and having a pin in its outer end which entersa hole in the flange V of the tube Kwhich releases the foot L from the stop in the tube G when it is moved outwardly, either by the detaching lever C being operated by the opening of the door A, or by the backward action of the alarm hammer P of the clock when operated by the clock reaching the time at which the alarm is to be set in motion.

Q is the alarm bell of the clock, which is rung by the operation of the alarm move ment of the clock, as described, and which may also be rung, if required, by the opening of the door A, by releasing the alarm movement by the movement of the detaching lever C or some other portion of the lighting apparatus. I

R is a coiled spring which keeps the connecting wires between the detaching lever C and the lever B strained to proper tension, and also keeps the end of each of those levers in proper position to be operated.

S is a common friction match, placed and secured in the upper part of the holder J, which is made to bear against the emerypaper cylinder M, by springing back the holder J, with sufficient pressure to insure its being lighted when moved over the sur face of the emery-paper cylinder.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The spirit lamp being filled and fitted ready for lighting, the match holder J is depressed until its foot L enters the stop in the tube G, the pin in the detent N being placed in the hole in the flange V. A friction match is then placed in the holder J and the holder J is sprung back sufliciently to press the match against the surface of the emery-paper cylinder M to produce the requisite friction to inflame the match when it is moved over the emery-paper cylinder. The tongue E is turned down so that it will be operated on the opening of the door A to move the lever C and the detent N and turn the tube K by its flange V until the foot L is released from the stop in the tube G, and allow the holder J to be carried upward by the action of the coiled spring I-I; lighting the match S (by rubbing it against the surface of the emery-paper cylinder) and the lamp I, and, if the alarm bell of the clock is connected with the lighting apparatus, ringing an alarm to awaken the occupants of the room. Or, the clock can be set to ring the alarm at a given hour and the lamp be lighted by the detent N being operated by the hammer P of the alarm releasing the detent upon its backward movement.

The turn given to the match holder J to release it from the stop, as named, when the match is in contact with the emery-paper cylinder, gives that cylinder a rotating movement equal to the movement of the holder, so that a fresh surface of the cylinder is presented at each operation to be acted upon by the match, and the objection to a stationary surface being fitted up with the particles from the end of the match, so that it becomes too smooth to create sufiicient friction to inflame the match, is removed.

The emery-paper cylinder is readily formed by taking a piece of emery paper of proper length and Width, and forming it into a. cylinder and securing the ends together by glue, paste or gum, so that when one of them is worn out and becomes inoperative, it can be readily and cheaply re placed.

The lighting apparatus and alarm may be operated from a window in the room, or from the hall door of the house, or from all the exposed windows and doors of the house if deemed necessary or desirable, by attaching the lever B and tongue E to it, or to each of them, and carrying the connecting wires from it,'or from them, to the detaching lever C The advantages of my improvement are, that the frame F retains the lighting apparatus securely in vertical position, so that it is not subject to be displaced and rendered inoperative, as it is when supported only at one of its endsthat the rotating emerypaper cylinder, moved by the match, always presents a fresh surface for the match to act upon, so that the match is more certain of being lighted than when moved over a stationary surfacethat the lighting apparatus and alarm can be placed in any convenient position in the room, and be operated by wires leading from the exposed door or window (or doors or windows) liable to be forced and entered by burglars, and that by being connected to an alarm clock, the lighting apparatus can be operated by the clock so that a person can have a light when he is awakened by the ringing of the alarm.

I do not claim making an alarm which lights a lamp at the same time that it rings an alarm, as I am aware that that has been before effected, but

What I do claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The application to the lamp I of the revolving emery-paper cylinder M, operated as described and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of the frame F having duplicated bracketswith the tube G, match holder J, and lamp I, as and for the purposes described.

3. Connecting the lighting apparatus with an alarm clock so as to be operated either by the opening'of the door or window of the room or by the clock, as set forth.

4. The combination of the detaching lever C, with the lever B and tongue E and their connecting wires, so that the lighting apparatusand, if desired, the alarmcan be operated from a distant point as described.

JOHN MATTHEWMAN.

Witnesses:

P. B. FOSTER, L. A. DICKINSON. 

